Two men jailed for smuggling in €80,000 of cannabis on ferry

By Sonya McLean

Two men who agreed to import cannabis into Ireland in order to reduce drug debts they both had have been jailed for 33 months.

Dylan Deegan (26) and Evan Campbell (26) both pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to importing cannabis, valued at €80,000, into Ireland at Dublin Port on November 26, 2022.

Deegan, of Oldtown Avenue, Santry, Dublin 9, has 65 convictions, mostly for minor offending but including a previous drug offence.

He told gardaí during interview that he agreed to transport the drugs from the UK to Ireland in order to take about €7,000 off a €10,000 or €12,000 drug debt he had run up due to his own addiction.

Campbell, of Beauvale Park, Artane, Dublin 5, has 35 previous convictions, again including some offences for drug dealing.

He said in garda interview that he had a drug debt of €5,000 and that some of that would be cleared if he transported the drugs.

Judge Martin Nolan said that it seemed that both men “were the authors of their own misfortune” and were obliged to third parties who took advantage of their “vulnerable situation” and were “induced” to get involved in the offences.

He acknowledged that both Deegan and Campbell had “their challenges” and accepted that they both have since made efforts to deal with their drug addictions before he jailed them both for 33 months.

An investigating garda accepted a suggestion from Jane McGowan BL, prosecuting, that the men were effectively “caught red-handed” at Dublin Port after coming off the ferry from Holyhead.

The vehicle was flagged and anomalies in the doors of the car were discovered after it was scanned. The drugs, eight bags of vacuum packed cannabis, were found hidden in the doors.

The men were arrested and both accepted their involvement. The gardaí accepted that it was their “addictions that led them to this predicament”.

Michael Hourigan SC, defending Deegan, submitted that it was his client’s drug debt that led to him being a vulnerable person. He said he has family support and has since engaged with local community services to deal with his addiction.

Aoife O’Leary BL, defending Campbell, said he was directed by another person to carry this out and was told where to go to collect the drugs before returning with them to Ireland.

She said he struggled with his mental health and drug addictions but has strong family support and has sought help with his local services for assistance with his various issues.